Seven Questions You Must Ask Yourself Before You Remodel Your Kitchen

A well-planned kitchen remodel is one of the smartest updates you can make to your home. Realtors often say, “Kitchens sell houses.” If you set a budget and work hard to maximize it, you will find a kitchen remodel will give you a hefty return on your investment when it comes time to sell your home—often 70 to 80 percent! Here are a few issues to consider when embarking on your remodeling journey:

1. What is Your Budget?
This should be your first, and biggest, consideration. If you are a do-it-yourselfer, you can really save some money in this area. Decide the scale of your renovation, how much you would change or improve, and what benefit you will realize from doing so. Once you do that, consult an experienced professional to arrive at a realistic budget.

2. What is your goal?
Even very basic changes like sprucing things up with paint, countertops and flooring can make a huge impact. You may wish to take it a step further and replace all of your appliances. Or, you may be looking at a full-scale renovation that involves demolition, rerouting plumbing, electric and gas lines and more. What are you starting with and where would you like to end up?

3. Needs vs. Wants?
Unless you are fortunate enough to have unlimited funds, you will need to learn the art of prioritization. Start with those changes that must be done to make an attractive, workable space. From there, if the budget allows, pick and choose those changes that will provide you the most added value and the greatest enjoyment for your family.

4. How long can you afford to be without a kitchen?
Decide how long your family can feasibly stand to be without a workable kitchen. If you are doing the bulk of the work yourself, group major projects together that will shut down the function of your kitchen for the shortest possible time. If contractors are doing the work, make sure they understand your timeline.

5. How much of the work can you do yourself?
There are a number of projects that absolutely require the expertise only a professional can offer. However, if you are handy, there are other projects that you may be able to handle on your own. If you feel comfortable doing so, you can save big.

6. Does your plan require structural changes?
Unless you work in construction yourself, any time a plan requires structural changes you will want to enlist the services of a professional contractor. He or she will be able to tell you how to go about getting what you want without causing structural damage. Your vision for the room may or may not be possible. Find out for sure before you take a step you can’t erase.

7. Are there repairs to make in addition to the remodel?
Maybe your kitchen remodel requires more than cosmetic changes. If so, you’re not alone. The very reason many people remodel their kitchens in the first place is to create a functional, workable space. Make sure you bring wiring up to code and fix any plumbing issues before bringing in any new appliances at all. Brand new appliances can be ruined quickly if installed into a non-working kitchen.

A kitchen remodel is a stressful endeavor, but one that will almost certainly pay off in the end—both in increased home value and your family’s pure enjoyment of the space.

These are great questions. Another one to consider is what your “backup” kitchen will be. When we remodeled our kitchen (http://ourlittlebungalow.blogspot.com/2012/02/kitchen-remodel.html)
we took some old cabinets and countertops and put them in the guest room. Between paper plates, a toaster over, and a coffee pot, we did pretty well for a full month without access to the kitchen.

RRP might be reason to close transfer stations
By: Jason Whipple
Remodel Crazy
In Washington County, NY the RRP rule might be responsible for closing down transfer stations.
While budgets are getting tighter and tighter in this downed economy, …